


Death Hides in Clocks

by thanksforthetea



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-22
Updated: 2013-03-18
Packaged: 2017-11-22 00:20:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/603706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanksforthetea/pseuds/thanksforthetea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m your Grim Reaper, John. You’re going to die in six months.”</p><p>In which John is a man with only six months left to live, and Sherlock is the Grim Reaper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nickelsandcoats](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickelsandcoats/gifts).



Running around like rabbits they were picked off one after another. One man dying, then another, then another; this was the life of John Watson. He’d try to stitch them up again, but it was no use. They would just breathe in airless gulps until they went limp in his arms.

John would radio the other Medical Corps behind his group that there would be another fallen soldier. He’d sit and wait in the hot Afghanistan sun until they’d arrive to take the body back to base, where it would eventually return home to a distressed family in mourning.

However this mission would be the mission that almost ended John’s life.

It was like any other day. Hot, dusty, and dry; polar opposite to the cold, muggy, wet London weather back home. Their mission was to talk to some local villagers to see if they knew any Taliban forces located around the area. It was supposed to be a rather safe mission: in and out before supper.

At high noon it turned for the worse. One shot after another, the men were snipped down outside of the town by the Taliban. John realized that this might be the end for him. The end of everything.

Bang. Another man fell. Bang. John started running. Bang. The sun was shining even brighter than before.

Bang. John fell to the ground. Bang. He saw a dark figure hovering over him, blocking out the sun like a solar eclipse.

And then everything went black.

. . . . . .

John awoke with a start, sweat dripping down his back like a friendly reminder that he was alive. He scanned the room, taking in the surroundings. A flat in London, drab, dreary, nothing out of the ordinary. He recalled that after he was shot, he was sent back to the base where he rested until he was deemed well enough to make the trip back home. Honorary discharge, what a bloody joke. He was not fit enough to be sent out again to the front lines, so they just sent home a broken man to heal himself while on a small pension. John clenched his fist, fighting back tears as thoughts raced around his head about the war.

Deciding it was time to get up, John picked up his cane; PTSD causing the pain in his stupid leg apparently. Hobbling towards the desk in the tiny room, he sat down, flipped open his computer and stared at the loading screen.

Tapping his fingers impatiently, the broken man opened the drawer, locking his eyes on his Sig Sauer P226R. Chuckling, he casually picked up the gun, fiddling with it between his hands. He knew if the military knew that he had it that they would send him to a Psychiatric Ward due to his unstable nature. Hell, even his therapist deemed unstable currently and requested him to stay with family or friends.

But who would want him? Who would want to spend time with a broken man, a man that’s been scarred and destroyed from the war?

John stared at the gun, feeling the weight of the metal seep into his fingertips. Taking out the magazine, John inspected how many bullets were left in it. One. That was enough to end this god awful life.

Before John could proceed however, he got a phone call. Checking the caller display, he could see that it was his sister.

Sighing, John picked up the phone, muttering a quick ‘hello’.

“Hey John,” Harry started off, a tone of sympathy in her voice. John bit his tongue however, not wanting to snap off at his sister. “I was just wondering if you wanted to go for coffee.”  
John paused, thinking for a brief moment on whether to decline the offer or not. “Sure.” John started, “Where did you want to meet?”

“I was thinking the Café in the Gardens,” Harry chirped, “We could meet there at, say, eleven?”

John glanced at the clock on the computer monitor. Quarter after ten. He would have enough time to get ready and on the tube. “Sound good. I’ll text you when I’m there.”

“Sounds good! See you then!” Harry beamed, before ending the call.

John stared at the phone, then at the gun. He put the magazine back into the gun, and stored the weapon in the drawer. Out of sight, out of mind John chanted.

. . . . . .

Text Message  
Today 10:49  
From: Harry Watson  
Hey John! Sorry something came up and I can’t make it to see you. :( IOU a coffee date.

Sighing, John pocketed his phone. Hobbling up to the counter of the café, he ordered an Earl Grey to go. Looking at his watch, he decided that he might as well sit and bird watch while the weather is nice out. It’s not like he had any plans for today.

As John was walking in the park with Earl Grey in one hand and his cane in another, he saw a rather large figure walk up towards him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he finally noticed who it was.

“John!” the man beamed, “It’s so nice to see you! Say, how’s your shoulder doing?” he asked, not even bothering asking about the leg.

“It’s sore at times, but getting slowly better.” John gave a half-smile, “I’m sorry your name is-?”  
“Mike. Mike Stamford.” The larger man stated, “Say, let’s sit down and have a catch-up shall we?”

So John agreed, feeling that it would be better to be with someone right now than to go home and just mope around for the rest of the day. They chatted about everything: from the weather, to politics, to the university life they once had. Eventually the topic of John wanting to move came up.

“How come you want to move out of your current flat?” Mike asked.

“Well for starters, it’s really hard for me to commute everywhere from that location.” John sighed, “It’s a good ten minute walk to the station. Second, I can’t afford to live in London on a pension, and I don’t want to move in with Harry since she has her own problems to deal with.”

“I know someone that’s looking for a flatmate.”

“Really?” John sounded skeptical.

“Really,” Mike nodded, “I can introduce you two if you want?”

“Um… Sounds alright.”

. . . . . .

After a few quick messages, Mike and John took the tube to Chancery Lane and walked the rest of the way to St. Bart’s. It had been quite some time since John was here, him being here last in his student days.

Walking into one of the several chemical research labs, John saw a young, slender man hunched over a set of tubes filled with various chemicals. Perhaps researching something, John noted.

“Sherlock Holmes,” Mike walked over to the slender man, “So nice to see you! Glad you got my texts!”

The man sat up, his pale blue eyes focused in on John, “Glad you could find a flatmate for me Mike.” He stood up, striding over to John. John felt himself tense up, the air growing cold around him.

John tightened the grip on his cane, feeling uneasy at this moment. “Name is John Watson.”  
Sherlock smiled a devilish smile, “You’re actually a Doctor. Army doctor I presume? Were you deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq?”

“I beg your pardon?” John stammered, while Mike watched on.

Sherlock walked over and grabbed Mike’s cell phone, “Needing to borrow this as my phone is dying. Anyways, where was I… Oh yes. You recently came back from a war, either Afghanistan or Iraq since that’s where Britain is currently deployed. Also the fact is that you have a tan line, where we haven’t seen sun in such a long time, am I correct? You also walk with a limp, which I presume is not due to an injury; that’s on your shoulder. No, it’s because you suffer from PTSD and that’s how it manifests in you John Watson.”

John stared on, dumbfounded. How could this man know so much from such a short meeting?

“Sherlock likes to deduce people,” Mike noted for John, “He enjoys learning about people in the tiniest ways possible.”

John nodded, looking at the slender man gracefully walk the room. He didn’t even notice that Sherlock gave Mike back his cellphone, as the heavier-set man slowly left the room, leaving the two men alone.

“So are you wanting to room with me?” Sherlock asked, picking up his long, dark trench coat. John swore he saw it somewhere before. He just couldn’t pinpoint it.

“Uh- Yes if that’s alright with you.” John nodded, shifting so his weight was on his good leg. He kept staring at the man, fascinated by his pale ghostly-blue eyes. He could swear he saw this man before. Somewhere, even for the briefest of moments he knew this man.

“Good. I found a flat on Baker Street if that suits you. You can swing by tomorrow to take a look at it. I already have a good deal on it.”

John was rather surprised at the other man’s quick statement. He already found a flat, without even consulting John? Who was this man even? Before John could ask, Sherlock was already out the door.

. . . . . .

Ah, settled at last. After a day of packing and slowly moving things from his old flat to 221b, he was finally home. The landlady, Mrs. Hudson, was a rather lovely woman. Older, with wisdom far beyond her years, and could have a quick temper too. (‘I’m your landlady not your housekeeper!’ she quipped to Sherlock at least once today as John was slowly moving things up the stairs.)

Out of the corner of John’s eye, he could see Sherlock communicating to the skull. He recalled the strange man named it Yorick, after Shakespeare’s Hamlet he presumed.

“What are you doing?” John hummed, feeling rather cold. He got up from his rather large chair to a box, where he opened it up to get one of his jumpers on.

“I’m talking to my brother.” Sherlock snapped, placing down the skull on top of the mantelpiece.

John chuckled, “Rubbish. That’s a skull. Unless you’ve hooked up wires to make it a phone.” He suggested, raising his eyebrows.

“This skull is used to communicate with my brother Mycroft whom is currently overseas in France to deal with a flu epidemic.” He sat down, opening his violin case. Several moths came from the case, hanging around Sherlock like he was a flame.

John pursed his lips, “So it is a phone then.”

“No it is not.”

“But you said it was used to communicate with your brother-“

“Yes, but it is only between those that have a skull and can use it,” Sherlock quipped, “Like, for example, if you used it, it would be rendered useless.”

“What the bloody hell do you mean ‘it would be rendered useless’?” John snapped, closing the distance between himself and the man before him. “It’s just a bloody phone. And why the bloody hell is there so many moths!”

Sherlock plucked a string, the moths dancing around him once more before settling again. The air went still. John shivered; a puff of white air coming from his lungs. He swore he saw the lights in the room flicker to a dim glow.

Sherlock stood up, the moths slowly becoming puffs of smoke when Sherlock laid a finger on their dancing form. He snapped his fingers; a golden hourglass forming out of the smoke that came from the moths. Tipping the hourglass, the sand started ticking away the minutes. The slender man finally crossed the room, placing the time device in John’s warm hands. John gasped at the touch. It was like ice being plunged into hot water; almost burning to the touch. The lights shattered to let the room become fully dark. John was blinded for a brief moment, panicking where the light had gone. Sherlock snapped his fingers, causing candles that were placed around the room to illuminate the dark space. John blinked, gawking at the heavy hourglass that was now in his hands.

Sherlock stared at John, his pale-blue eyes dancing in the light with a frosty glare. He frowned before saying, “I’m your Grim Reaper, John. You’re going to die in six months.”


	2. Chapter 2.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which John discovers his fate, and Sherlock tells him what he exactly does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is split up into two chapters: 2.1 and 2.2.
> 
> 2.2 will be up as soon as it's finished writing and betaing.
> 
> Enjoy.

Clutching the hourglass like a security blanket, John Watson curled up on his side in the dark, paleness of his bedroom. As the seconds passed, he noticed one grain of sand drop from the connecting tube and cradle against the curvature of the bottom bulb. Even though John was holding it horizontally, the sand kept on ticking, feeling the minutes of his life fading away minute by minute.

Sobbing silently, John rolled onto his other side as he slowly drifted off to sleep, recalling how he discovered his flatmate was a Grim Reaper.

. . . . .

_“What do you mean you’re the Grim Reaper?” John bellowed a laugh, “You are honestly joking right now. Are you drunk?”_

_Sherlock furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head at the response he was not expecting coming from the man with the death sentence. “First off, there are several Grim Reapers, not just one like the human race writes about in literature.” Crossing the room to the human, the air around them felt like ice, piercing John through his skin. John noticed, however, that Sherlock seemed unaffected by the cold. “Secondly,” the Grim Reaper continued, “We are assigned who we are in charge with before they die. We are assigned them several years before their deaths, making sure that they do not do anything irrational before their date of death, or DOD as we Reapers call it. I’ve been watching you since you were in graduate school, from afar, of course. We are not supposed to be detected, which was rather difficult when you were fatally wounded in Afghanistan. You were about to die before your expected DOD. A few days off it would have been fine, but you were off by a good nine months or so. Which is completely unacceptable by the Reapers to have your ‘humans’ die before their DOD, and there are rather severe consequences if this does happen.”_

_John paused as he processed all this information. Not just one, but several Grim Reapers? Being assigned someone to watch over so they don’t die early?_

_He realized something just then; the bullets, the screams, the black figure. When John first saw Sherlock he noticed how familiar he looked, but could not pinpoint the exact reason as to why he looked familiar. He just shook it off as probably a face in the crowd he saw once, but that was not the case._

_That figure that hovered over his dying body in Afghanistan that smelled of wet earth and decay, making his stomach hurt when he awoke from his thoughts. His long, black jacket that was far too warm to be wearing out in the middle of the desert. The tall, thinness of the figure that made him look sickly, almost like the walking dead._

_The walking dead._

_“You were in Afghanistan.” John muttered, feeling the colour in his face drain out. He covered his hand over his mouth, feeling like he was about to hurl up the contents of the little food he did have today._

_Sherlock gave a rather flirty smirk, “Of course I was. You’re the one I’m in charge with before you die. If anything happens before your DOD I am in deep trouble from the higher ups. Also your comrades did not have Grim Reapers assigned so I volunteered to watch them as I was watching you since I was over there.”_

_John stared up at Sherlock with wide eyes, learning and trying to understand what type of man- no, this monster Sherlock was. He held onto the hourglass for dear life, feeling his life tick away. Tick. Tick. It resounded in him, slowly driving his brain into madness._

_“Why didn’t you do anything?” John spat out._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Why didn’t you do anything to help them?” John glared at Sherlock, tears forming in his eyes, making them glassy._

_Sherlock sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in thought, “The problem is that their life was almost at an end. A few minutes or an hour does not impact Grim Reapers that much in the societal sense. You see, you humans all have a countdown clock to your Doomsday. If it’s off by a minute or an hour it’s perfectly alright. It only matters if it’s off by days, even years. Sometimes there are freak accidents, in this case war, but sometimes famine, disease; where Grim Reapers are too few to spread around. So sometimes there is a lottery to see who gets watched over by a ‘Guardian Angel’.”_

_John stood up, staring right up at Sherlock, chest puffed out. Tears were rolling down freely now, but he did not care. “You make me sick.” John spat, throwing the hourglass across the room, causing it to hit the wall before rolling back to Sherlock’s feet._

_Sherlock gripped John by the collar, bringing him up on his toes. He felt his body go colder, shivering violently at the Grim Reaper’s grip. He saw Sherlock’s pupil expand completely around the iris, making his appearance seem more menacing. “Rule number one: Don’t you dare throw the hourglass. It is your lifeline. If it breaks, you’re done for. You are responsible for its safety. Rule number two: If you try to shake the hourglass it will go faster every time. Rule number three: I don’t make up the rules for Death. They were created before you pests were even roaming this planet. So suck it up, it is life. Get over it.”_

_After Sherlock’s spiel, he let go of his grip on John, causing the veteran to stumble a bit. Picking up the hourglass, Sherlock noticed a little crack in the bulb. Sighing, he closed his eyes, kissing the glass until it healed perfectly, not leaving any signs of damage. Shoving it to John, Sherlock walked past him towards his bedroom._

_“Don’t you dare ask me any more questions about death.” He said with finality, entering his chambers before closing the door behind him._

. . . . .

John awoke to the sound of a violin string being tuned, eventually turning into a melody. It was a rather light melody, considering Sherlock was a man of Death. John slowly got out of bed, and sat his hourglass on the nightstand, feeling the weight with him as he walked down the stairs from his bedroom to the living room where the slender figure was playing. Sherlock’s hands caressed the neck of the instrument as his other hand slid the bow across the strings, creating harmonious music. John could not help but smile, feeling his heavy heart alleviated even for the briefest of moments.

When the song was finished, Sherlock turned around to see the human watch him play. “Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte Op. 62 Number 1.” Sherlock quickly chipped as John tried to process the information quickly. “I hope your sleep was restful as it could be, considering the circumstances.”

John blankly stared at Sherlock, nodding slowly to his comment. “Had nightmares, could’ve been worse.” He walked towards the kitchen, putting the kettle on to make himself a cup of tea. Sighing heavily, he walked back into the living room where Sherlock was, sat down on his chair, and opened yesterday’s newspaper that he never did get a chance to read last night.

Just before he could read the top stories, there was a light rapping at the door. Sherlock sat his violin in one of the free chairs, bolting down the steps two at a time. John folded up his newspaper, wondering who it would be this early in the morning. Standing up and moving towards the window, John noticed a police cruiser outside. Was Sherlock in trouble? Hell, was he in trouble for some reason? Before John could ask, his flatmate came back up the stairs with company in tow.

Sherlock strode towards the human with long, graceful strides. The guest behind him was of medium build with short, grey hair. John assumed he was older, probably around his age or older. “John, Lestrade. Lestrade, John. Let’s keep pleasantries short, alright?” Sherlock stated, walking to the kitchen to grab some files.

Lestrade beamed, walking up to John and shaking his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. Sherlock has been telling me all about you.”

John flustered, “All about me- Wait are you going to arrest me?”

The grey-haired man laughed, taking off his leather gloves and jacket before sitting himself down on the chesterfield, “Of course not. I’m a detective, but I also work for the Grim Reaper Investigation Services.” He chuckled, crossing his legs to make himself more relaxed.

John processed the information for several moments before asking, “So are you a Grim Reaper?”

“Me? A Reaper? Nah. I know about them since I started working in Scotland Yard, but I am definitely not one. Purely human.” The police man stated, twiddling his thumbs.

Sitting up, John asked another question, “So are you being watched by them or something?”

Just before Lestrade was about to answer, Sherlock came back into the room with files in hand. Staring at John, he answered, “He helps us with cases. Lost Reapers, Reapers that vanish mysteriously; anything to do with Reapers Lestrade helps us out.” He passed the files to the detective, “Back to why you are here. Here’s some information about the rouge Reaper that is running about the United Kingdom. Last I heard he was close to Glasgow.”

“Thanks Sherlock.” Lestrade leafed through the file quickly before adding, “I almost forgot: There is a case we’d like you to work on. Involves suicides; however the department, as well as the public think otherwise.”

Sherlock smiled, feeling rather excited, “So you’re saying it’s probably a serial killer?”

“You tell me.” Lestrade huffed, getting up to put on his jacket.

Sherlock jumped for joy, pulling up John and whirled him around the room, “Did you hear John! A serial killer! This is better than Christmas.”

John felt green, “If you think killing someone is like Christmas, then sure.”


	3. Chapter 2.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which John gets taken to a warehouse.

They found the killer about a month ago now. Everything was said and done, the guy ended up getting shot, but it was the end. Sherlock was rather thrilled about the whole thing, and to be honest John was as well. Figuring out who did what like in one of those classic mystery novels thrilled him. It made his life more interesting again, figuring out mysteries with Sherlock Holmes.  
John was walking home from Tesco with bags filled with groceries, as well as some personal things. It was rather dull actually; mundane, repetitive, same old same old gig every day. He was rather depressed about it actually. When he was solving a case with Sherlock, his heart leapt with such joy, actually doing something with his now short life. His hourglass just tipped for a month of time; five months left according to his Reaper, Sherlock Holmes.

As he was quickly texting Sherlock that he was just about five minutes from the flat, a sleek black car was driving up beside him. How odd; a rather luxurious vehicle during this time of the day. He would only see them around the really high end parts of London where one could actually buy a place and afford it, not just renting out some small flat with a flatmate that was actually not human.

A young woman, perhaps around her late twenties John thought, stepped out of the motionless vehicle. Her high heels clicked against the cement, swaying her hips lightly as she walked towards the former army doctor.

“John Watson,” the lady voiced rather monotonous, fixing her curly black hair so it all sat on one side. “Come with me please.”

John stayed where he was on the sidewalk, staring at the lady with a quizzical look. “How do you know my name?”

Sighing, the lady motioned towards the car, “I can assure you will not be killed. Sherlock would have a fit.”

Before asking how she knew Sherlock’s name, she took him by the hand and shoved him in the car, the door locking automatically. Well if he was going to die, at least he was going to die by the hands of an attractive, young woman. Running around to the other side, she opened her car door and close it when she entered the vehicle. She quickly told the driver where to go, and the two of them were off.

John eventually settled his Tesco haul onto the floor of the rather spacious vehicle. He looked over at the lady, staring down at her typing away at her Blackberry, then back to her. “So, um, any plans this evening-“

“I’m rather busy John Watson.”

Shocked by her rather blunt reply, he just stared out the window in silence until their destination. It seemed like a rather ordinary place; an abandoned office building, which one would not realize unless they noticed the unkemptness of the place.

The lady got out of the car, while John followed suit, asking her if they would be returning to the vehicle later.

“If you’re wondering about your Tesco haul, yes you will be back in the same vehicle.” She said rather curtly.

Frowning slightly at her rather unpleasant reply, John closed the door and followed her into the building.

Inside it was rather murky, the smell reminding him of wet dirt and logs in the forest. This building inside was also showing its age; ceilings crumbling, floors in shambles, the wallpaper peeling. Everything about this reminded John of a bad set-up for a cheesy B-rated horror flick.

Zigging and zagging through the corridors and stairs leading further down into the bowels of the Earth, John wondered if this was his final resting place, if Sherlock was lying all along. However, when the young lady opened the door at the end of the hallway John's thoughts changed to that of awe. 

In the room were two ornate chairs that reminded the army doctor of an aristrocratic family long forgotten over the course of time. The centre lied a table, the wood worn over the ages. Around the room the walls were painted a deep red, almost crimson in colour, and paintings of figures of Death over the ages. 

The sound of shoes against the wooden floor snapped John back to reality. Before him stood a man with balding hair and a well-tailored grey suit. In his hand, a rather expensive umbrella, even though there was no rain in the forecast. 

"Please sit down," the elegant man asked of John, to which John complied.

"Rather nice in here compared to the building. Misleading, don't you think?" The man with the death clock started, trying to make small talk as he got comfortable in his seat.

The man before him smirked, chuckling to the amusement that fell upon the room, "I live in luxury, not in a cave. The outside is nearly just a facade so intruders don't make a mess of the place. You understand, don't you?"

"Why am I here?" John mentioned, ignoring the question the man asked. John just really want to get home, curl up on the couch and watch some bad reruns on the telly.

"In due time Doctor Watson." the man smiled a devilish smile, summoning a person to serve tea. "Tea? It's chamomile. Rather soothing for the soul, don't you think?"

"How do you know my name?" John asked, feeling himself tense up at the situation. He did not yet know this man, but the man before him certainly knew him by the way things were going. 

"I assume you are already familiar with my younger brother Sherlock, am I correct?"

"So you're..."

"Mycroft Holmes yes." Mycroft chipped in, pouring the tea and serving it to the both of them. "I assume Sherlock has mentioned me in passing, mentioning how I am his arch-nemesis as he calls me."

"He only mentioned you once, after our first case together." John replied rather brash.

"Fair enough. He does hate the Holmes family. As you are probably guessing, I am indeed a Grim Reaper like Sherlock. Head of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland branch actually." Taking a sip of the hot liquid and humming in satisfaction, Mycroft continued, "It is my duty to make sure all Reapers are fit for service, as well as make sure they complete their tasks."

"Let me get this straight: You want to make sure Sherlock takes my soul yes?" John said bitterly. He understood the circle of life, but he would rather not know when he was to die. 

"Indeed." The senior Grim Reaper nodded, "However, I do have a favour to ask of you John Watson."

"What's that?" John retorted, feeling rather out-of-place. In such an elegant room, at the bottom of a murky old warehouse, with the head of Reapers in the United Kingdom.

Leaning in, Mycroft's eyes glowed a red tinge, almost like what he was going to say next could change John's game of death.

"I want you to make absolutely sure Sherlock does not fall in love with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. Terribly sorry it took so long! Got busy with personal things.
> 
> I will work on the next chapter shortly and hopefully have it up by the end of the week.
> 
> Thanks again to my beta reader for reading this before I posted. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the lovely socialsaltysailors for betaing this fanfiction.
> 
> If you notice any grammatical errors, please let me know. I like to grow as a writer, so constructive criticism is lovely.


End file.
